By Force of Arms [Import] [Paperback]

James Nelson (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Books (2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0552149608
• ISBN-13: 978-0552149600
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,880,319 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in a log cabin in the sea-side town of Lewiston, Maine.... Okay, maybe not a log cabin. And maybe Lewiston isn't exactly a seaside town. Despite that, my interest in ships and the sea began early, reading Hornblower and building ship models. In high school I built a fifteen foot sailboat, and with a friend, an eighteen foot canoe.
I graduated from Lewiston High School in 1980, if not with honors then at least with a diploma. After a year of hitchhiking and motorcycling around the country, I attended the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, later transferring to UCLA Film School (Official Motto: '...but what I really want to do is direct...') , from which I graduated in 1986. After working in the television industry for two years, I realized that I could not stand a) the television industry, b) Los Angeles and c) being ashore. In 1988 I joined the crew of the Golden Hinde (rhymes with mind), a replica of Sir Francis Drake's vessel of 1577. There I met a foretop person named Lisa Page, whom I beat out for the job of bosun. Lisa vowed then and there to marry me and make me pay for that for the rest of my life.
Leaving the Hinde in Houston, Texas, I worked aboard the brig Lady Washington (after my time she played the Interceptor in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie) and the ship 'HMS' Rose, (Surprise in Master and Commander, also after my time) I sailed aboard Rose for two years, as Able Bodied Seaman and Third Mate.
In 1993, I 'swallowed the anchor.' Lisa Page, made good on her threat and we married that year. The following year I finished By Force of Arms, my first book. I've been a full-time writer since then, with fourteen books either published or in the process of being published. My books have sold in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Spain. My 2003 title Glory in the Name was selected as the winner of the American Library Association's W.Y. Boyd Award for Excellence in Military Fiction.
Recently, my writing has expanded to include non-fiction. My first work of non-fiction was Reign of Iron, a detailed look at the ironclads Monitor and Merrimack (Virginia). More recently I completed a book about the Revolutionary war naval battle that took place on Lake Champlain. That book is called Benedict Arnold's Navy.
Lisa and I now live in Harpswell, Maine (which really is a seaside town), with our four children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Exciting, but a little over the top, February 15, 2000

By 

Roger Lee - See all my reviews

This review is from: By Force of Arms (Revolution at Sea #1) (Paperback)

This book is very exciting at times, but it also has its weak points. Nelson does a good job of keeping the action going and he also does a good job of describing the intricate workings of a man-of-war during the late 18th century. I also think Nelson made a good decision by having his books set during the American Revolutionary War and told from the American point of view. The sea novel about the Royal Navy set during the Napoleonic Wars has been done to death and done well by many other authors. Now for what Nelson doesn't do so well. Nelson's writing is not nearly as smooth or brilliantly descriptive as Patrick O'Brian. His characters are mostly one-dimensional, much of the plot is predictable and some of the action is a little unbelievable. I have to admit though, in spite of its flaws, I did find it reasonably entertaining.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nelson picks up the flag of American Historical Fiction, October 30, 1999

By 

Zack Miller "neuron" (Cumberland Foreside, ME) - See all my reviews

This review is from: By Force of Arms (Revolution at Sea #1) (Paperback)

For those who can't get enough of Nautical Fiction or Historical Fiction of the American Revolution, James Nelson has come to the rescue. Nelson in his first novel puts plot above character (the opposite of O'Brian), but there is a decidedly American flair to his work. For those of us who live in New England, we can feel the winter chill and see the deep blue winter sky of Rhode Island. The work is more like the novels of Kenneth Roberts. The action is fast paced. There are no naturalists pursuing arcane beetles, no duets coming from the Captain's Quarters. What there is, is a good sea story from the age of sail. If the map of Narragansett Bay in the front of the book is not adequate, than the serious history buffs should get out their charts.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Action all the way., June 4, 2002

By 

A. J. Watson "Bones" (Newcastle-on-Tyne, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: By Force of Arms (Revolution at Sea #1) (Paperback)

A string of unfortunate events propel Isaac Biddlecomb from captain of a merchant ship, to wanted smuggler, to foremast jack, then - the ultimate degradation - pressed into service in the enemy's Navy, aboard a hell-ship run by incompetent tyrants. Hopes of escape in Barbados are thwarted by a farcical attempt at anchoring, the subsequent disgrace tipping the unstable Captain over the brink into madness.

In parallel, all the elements are coming together for mutiny, both at sea and in the American colonies; this is 1775, just over a year after the Boston Tea Party, and the British blockades and harrying of shipping are stretching tempers to the limit.

Biddlecomb finds himself a key player in the run up to the struggle for American Independance
Mr.Nelson does a fine job of weaving the threads of this story into a fine yarn, with plenty of historical facts to back it up. The characters are well-drawn and believable, the writing flows and the action sequences are so vividly detailed, one almost feels like part of the crew.

This is book 1 of a 5-part saga, which promises great things. There is action and plot twists right up to the last page, I couldn't put it down.
The author has also thoughtfully included a glossary of naval terms for those readers unfamiliar with the jargon.*****